Adult second language acquisition takes time over an extended period of time during which the L2 motivation of learners goes through periods of ups and downs. Dörnyei, MacIntyre and Henry (2015) recognized the inherently dynamic nature of L2 motivation and called for adopting the Complex Dynamic System Theory (CDST) when studying this phenomenon. While using a CDST perspective, this mixed method study drew on Dörnyei’s (2009b) model of the Motivational Self System to examine the L2 motivation of 86 Saudi study-abroad students. Also, the construct of the Anti-ought to Self (Thompson, 2015) and aspects of the Appraisal Theory (Schumann, 2001) were adopted to guide this examination. The results of the study showed that the L2 motivation of the participants fell into four main motivational patterns. Also, some of the participants shifted into new attractor states over the course of their academic semester. Another important finding was that the Anti-ought to Self appeared as an important construct. The results of the standard multiple regressions showed that the amount of the variance in the Intended Learning Effort that was accounted for by the Anti-ought to Self alone exceeded the amount of the variance accounted for by the other explanatory variables put together. Also, the analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data showed that the use of the Appraisal Theory improved the construct validity of the Learning Experiences. The implications of these findings and future directions of the L2 motivational research were also discussed in the study.

Motivation always attracts language teachers’ attention as one of the most significant factors for second language learning. In the past decades, motivational studies have experienced transitions and developments, and various studies investigated language learning motivation. (Dörnyei and Ryan, 2015) However, those motivational studies indicate that research outcomes vary depending on languages, contexts, and individuals, and understanding L2 learning motivation requires investigations at the local level.<div>This study examined the motivation of Japanese learners at a large state university in the Midwestern United States by asking them to respond to an online survey with eleven motivational factors that include the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009) and the anti-ought-to L2 self (Thompson & Vásquez, 2015). <div>The main findings are as follows. First, attitude towards leaning Japanese, classroom support, the ideal L2 self, and the anti-ought-to L2 self had significant relationships with students’ intended effort. Second, rather than how long/in which course students study, why/for what they are learning Japanese makes the most significant differences in their motivation. Third, the ought-to L2 self might not be the best motivational factor for learning Japanese since characteristics of Japanese are different from those of English, which is widely used around the world. Fourth, interest in Japanese anime, manga, and games did not correlate with participants’ ideal L2 self and intended effort although interest in the other cultural items showed moderate correlations with those factors. Fifth, the longer/higher-level their learning experience became, the less interest participants showed in Japanese anime, manga, and pop culture, indicating that their interest in these cultural aspects began to vary and shifted to the other aspects of Japanese culture. </div><div>The main pedagogical implications suggested by the study are that there is a need to help students to set realistic goals and visualize future self-image with the Japanese language so that they can continue learning regardless of the course level or length of study, and teachers should consider at which stages their students are, and on the basis of that, decide how much anime and manga to incorporate into their lessons.</div></div>

This study is dedicated to the investigation of the motivational profiles in university students on campus and on distance. Having said that, the present study aims to investigate the following aspects related to these groups of students: a) their motivational profile; and b) if they differ in the motivational profile according to the type of study in which they are inserted (campus ordistance).  A survey has been carried out on campus on university students as well ason distance students, these students were surveyed through a questionnaire based on, in part, on the theory of the motivational self-system in L2 created by the psycholinguist Zoltán Dörnyei in 2009. Due to the limitations of the study and of the members the groups, this study doesn’t intend to generalize, moreover, this study was carried out with the materials and resources available, to date.  This study will try to demonstrate the different aspects of the motivational system in L2 in the two different groups and in their modalities.

This research paper examines Swedish students’ attitudes and motivation towards English education in two upper secondary schools, using Dörnyei’s (2005) L2 motivational self system. Of interest is whether theoretical and vocational students have motivational differences when it comes to learning English as a second language. A quantitative questionnaire was compiled using the instrument variables from previous studies of L2 motivation, and question items, which were “re-theorized” for this particular study. 58 students participated, of which 30 were theoretical students and 28 vocational students. Results were then analyzed across three dimensions of L2 motivation: ideal L2 self, ought to L2 self, and L2 learning experience. Findings revealed that, on average, both groups were motivated to learn English as a second language, but that there is an apparent difference between theoretical and vocational students’ attitudes towards learning an L2: the theoretical students’ data showed that they have stronger influence than vocational students in the ideal l2 self, integrative/integrativeness, instrumentality-promotion, attitudes to l2 community, ought-to l2 self, instrumentality-prevention, family influence, attitudes to learning English, and criterion measures.

Syftet med den här studien var att kvalitativt undersöka L3-motivation hos vuxna invandrare som läser engelska (L3) på komvux i Sverige. Motivation undersöktes i relation till samspelet mellan målgruppens behov och mål, det svenska samhället och engelskans globala status. Den metodologiska utgångspunkten togs först och främst i Dörnyeis L2-motivationssjälvbildssystem (2005) och anpassades till studiens kulturella och sociala ramar. Resultaten indikerar att det är en stor sannolikhet att L3-motivation formas och starkt påverkas av vuxna invandrares invandrarskap och bikulturella identitet som har utvecklats i samband med integration i det svenska samhället. Detta framgår av att det svenska samhället och invandrarskapet ofta uppträder som normgivande när det gäller vuxna invandrares studier i engelska. Deras L3-motivationssjälvbildssystem indikerar dessutom att vuxna invandrares syn på den ideala språkliga självbilden är i kongruens med majoritetssamhällets förväntningar och kunskapsvillkor. Resultaten behöver dock valideras i framtiden genom fler studier och större elevpopulationer. / The purpose of this study is to by a qualitative method investigate L3 motivation in adult immigrants who study English (L3) in Sweden. Motivation was investigated in relation to the interplay between the target group’s needs and goals, the Swedish society, and the global status of English. The methodological framework was based on Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System (2005) and it was adapted to the cultural and social context of the study. The results indicate that there is a probability that immigrant identity (Swe. invandrarskap) and a sort of bicultural identity, which have developed in adult immigrants as side effect in the integrational process in the Swedish society, shape and strongly affect L3-motivation. This is supported by the informants’ interview data in which the Swedish society and the immigrant identity often appear as a normative referent for adult immigrants’ English studies. In addition, their L3 motivational self system indicates that adult immigrants’ perception of the ideal language self is in congruity with the majority society’s expectations on knowledge. However, the results need to be validated through more studies and larger student populations in the future.

Este estudio se dedica a investigar los posibles efectos de un bagaje multilingüe en: (1) las actitudes ante el multilingüismo en general, y, más concretamente ante el español como lengua extranjera, (2) en la capacidad de crear autoimágenes ideales multilingües y como hablantes de español y, finalmente (3) en el esfuerzo intencional de adquirir español como lengua extranjera. Como parte del marco teórico del presente estudio se ha utilizado el componente yo idealdel sistema del yo motivacional de L2, proporcionado en primer lugar por Dörnyei (2005), pero ampliado en nuestro estudio para incluir el nuevo paradigma multilingüe. A través del método cuantitativo, en este caso una encuesta, se han analizado las respuestas de dos grupos de alumnos suecos. Un grupo del alumnado tiene el sueco como lengua materna y el otro grupo tiene un bagaje multilingüe, es decir, tiene otra lengua materna. Los resultados indican que el bagaje multilingüe, en esta selección de participantes, afecta positivamente todas las dimensiones estudiadas, aunque en la primera dimensión acerca de las actitudes, las diferencias son menos significativas. Lo más notable entre los resultados del estudio es la mayor capacidad que muestran los alumnos cuyo bagaje es multilingüe de no sólo crear un yo idealmultilingüe, sino también un yo ideal como hablante de español. Es este un resultado que ilumina el rol motivador del multilingüismo en la adquisición de lenguas y señala la necesidad de crear vías educativas que valoren y fomenten el multilingüismo dentro de la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras. / This study is dedicated to investigating the potential effects of a multilingual background in: (1) attitudes displayed towards multilingualism in general, and more specifically towards Spanish as a foreign language, (2) the ability to create ideal, multilingual images of one’s self and of one’s self as a Spanish speaker, and (3) the intentional effort of acquiring Spanish as a foreign language. Part of the theoretical framework for this study comes from the ideal self from The L2 motivational self system, provided firstly by Dörnyei (2005), but herein expanded to include the new multilingual paradigm. Utilizing the quantitative method, in this case a survey, we have analyzed answers provided by two groups of Swedish students. One student group has Swedish as their mother tongue while the other has a multilingual background, meaning that they have a different mother tongue. The answers reveal that in this group of participants, the multilingual background has a positive effect on all three of the aspects studied, although in the first aspect concerning attitudes, the differences are less significant. What is most notorious about the study results is that the participants possessing a multilingual background have a greater ability to create not only an ideal, multilingual self but also an ideal Spanish speaking self. This fact highlights the motivational role that multilingualism plays when it comes to acquiring languages and it points out the need to create educational channels that value and encourage multilingualism within the teaching of foreign languages.